Brazos Valley Regional History Fair brings ‘conflict and compromise’ to Star of the Republic Museum and Washington-on-the-Brazos

Area students will display historical papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances and interpretive websites

February 7, 2018

From left: Kennedy Carroll, Ja’Tajah Hardman, and Jazmyne Sauls from Bryan ISD’s Jane Long Middle School presented “Ruby Bridges: Crossing the Color Barrier” at the 2017 Brazos Valley Regional History Fair held at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.

Sponsored by Blinn College’s Star of the Republic Museum and local businesses and organizations, the theme for this year’s history fair is “Conflict and Compromise in History.” Entries are open to students in grades 6-12 who have qualified for the regional competition by competing in their local school fair.

Students from Brazos, Grimes, Madison, and Washington counties will compete, including students from Brenham Junior High School, Navasota Junior High School, Navasota High School, Anderson-Shiro Junior High School, Anderson-Shiro High School, College Station High School, Davila Middle School, and Stephen F. Austin Middle School.

“Hosting the history fair exposes a new audience to the Star of the Republic Museum,” said Lisa Berg, Star of the Republic Museum Curator of Education and coordinator of the Brazos Valley Regional History Fair. “These are young students who are interested in history and are excited about history, so getting to learn about where Texas became Texas, and to display their historical knowledge at the History Fair, is a unique opportunity.”

This marks the 13th year that the Star of the Republic Museum has hosted the history fair at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.

The competitions consists of Junior and Senior levels in the following project categories; historical paper, exhibit, documentary, performance, and interpretive website. Judging takes place throughout the morning, and each student has a scheduled interview time with the judges to answer questions and describe the project’s research and analysis. The judges include several Blinn faculty, area educators, volunteers from local historical commissions, and history enthusiasts from the community.

At 3 p.m., the awards ceremony will announce the winners, including those who will advance to the state competition April 28 in Austin. Winners at the state competition can advance to the National History Day competition held at the University of Maryland in June.

Blue Bell Creameries is donating cups of vanilla ice cream for all to enjoy at the event.

The public is invited to view the performances beginning at 9 a.m., and the exhibits, historical papers, and websites will be available for public viewing after judging ends at 12:00 p.m.

Star of the Republic Museum is located at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site off state Highway 105. It was created by the Texas Legislature and is administered by Blinn College as a cultural and educational institution. Daily museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.